Jerrold Meinwald wins Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry

October 22, 2012

Jerrold Meinwald, the Goldwin Smith Professor of Chemistry Emeritus, will receive the Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry "for his pioneering work leading to the establishment of the field of chemical ecology," the Franklin Institute has announced.

The Franklin Institute, in Philadelphia, has named eight 2013 laureates for their achievements in science, technology and business leadership. They will be honored during an April 25 awards ceremony.

Meinwald's research interests include isolation and identification of biological active compounds from insect and other arthropod sources; pheromone systems of some amphibian and mammalian species; and identification of the messenger molecules involved in such systems and the understanding of underlying signal transduction pathways.

Among Meinwald's many other honors: the 2006 Grand Prix, la Maison de la Chimie (with the late Thomas Eisner, the Jacob Gould Schurman Professor of Chemical Ecology); the 2005 American Chemical Society Roger Adams Award in Organic Chemistry; the Czech Academy of Sciences Heyrovsky Medal; the Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest (with Eisner); the International Society of Chemical Ecology Silver Medal; the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement (with Eisner); the Arthur C. Cope Scholar award; and the American Chemical Society Ernest Guenther Award.

According to the Franklin Institute: "[Meinwald's] fundamental studies of how chemicals act as repellents and attractants between organisms pave the way for the use of these chemicals in a variety of biomedical, agricultural, forestry and household applications."

The Franklin Institute Awards Program aims to make science accessible and relevant to everyone. Each laureate, the institute says, "has positively impacted the quality of human life and deepened our understanding of the universe."